mLearnCon News and Updates

Apple devices dominate the medical field, but Android doubled its market share, according to a survey of 550,000-plus subscribers to Bulletin Healthcare.

Bulletin Healthcare, a medical news service, examined the reading habits of its 550,000-plus subscribers and found that the vast majority of healthcare professionals are using Apple's iOS-based devices to consume its daily email briefings. Android came in a distant second. Bulletin Healthcare collected its data over a nine-month period between June 1, 2010 and Feb. 28, 2011.

Bulletin Healthcare reported that during the test period, use of mobile devices to access its content swelled by 45%. It concludes that nearly 30% of healthcare professionals are using mobile devices for content consumption, with 70% sticking to desktop computers.

"Combined, the iPhone and iPad grabbed more than 90% share of use in February, while Android saw only 6% use, and other platforms like RIM and Palm barely registered," said Bill Mulderry, president of Bulletin Healthcare, in a statement.

That doesn't mean that Apple's hold on the medical field is absolute. In fact, iPhone use by medical professionals fell from 86% to 79% and use of Android devices double its market share during the test period. iPad use jumped from 8% to 14% during the test period.

Read the full article from InformationWeek here

From Technologizer

I’ve often wondered why people who use their PCs for basic stuff–like checking e-mail and browsing the Web — are required to buy hardware that’s far more powerful than what they really require. With that power comes the complexity of operating systems preloaded with applications and utilities that many people will never use, making PCs unapproachable for people who aren’t tech savvy.

That’s all changing–first, with the introduction of netbooks, and now even more so with the iPad. Apple’s tablet brings appliance-like simplicity to light computing needs, and brought my mother, who is in her early 60s and had never used a computer before, onto the Web. I’ve documented her fresh perspective on the iPad in this interview.

–David Worthington

Read the full dialogue between author and mom here